NCAA Bowl Capsules

OREGON 56, (23) SOUTH FLORIDA 21 --------------------------------
SUN BOWL
EL PASO, Texas (Ticker) -- Oregon may have been without Dennis Dixon, but there was nothing wrong with Jonathan Stewart. The Pac-10 Conference's leading rusher, Stewart rushed for a Sun Bowl record of 253 yards on 25 carries, powering Oregon to a 56-21 rout of South Florida on Monday. Stewart shattered the previous Sun Bowl mark of 197 yards, set by Stanford's Chuck Alexander in 1977. Monday's contest matched a pair of teams who had climbed to No. 2 in the rankings before late-season slumps. Oregon's national championship hopes were dashed when Dixon, the Ducks' versatile quarterback, suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 34-24 loss to Arizona on November 15. Without Dixon, a Heisman Trophy candidate, the Ducks (9-4) lost their final three regular-season games as the offense sputtered. Stewart had been hampered by a sore right big toe, limiting his practice time. But he looked fresh against South Florida, ripping off a 71-yard touchdown run that snapped an 11-11 tie with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper got off to a good start in a bid to win the starting job next year, passing for 180 yards and four touchdowns. Roper became Oregon's starter when backup Brady Leaf also went down with a season-ending knee injury in a 16-0 loss to UCLA on November 24. Buoyed by Stewart's long TD run, the Ducks broke open the contest with a 28-point third quarter, setting another Sun Bowl record for most points in a period. In the quarter, Roper tossed three touchdowns and Walter Thurmond returned an interception 26 yards for a score as Oregon extended its lead to 49-14. Despite the lopsided defeat, South Florida (9-4) still matched a school record for wins.

CALIFORNIA 42, AIR FORCE 36 ---------------------------
ARMED FORCES BOWL
FORT WORTH, Texas (Ticker) -- Kevin Riley threw three touchdown passes and Justin Forsett ran for two scores as California overcame a big early deficit to post a 42-36 win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Air Force (9-4) jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter but was unable to stop Cal once its offense got rolling. A freshman, Riley replaced Nate Longshore in the second quarter and the Bears offense took off. He completed 16-of-19 passes for 269 yards and three TDs. He also ran for a TD in the fourth quarter to give Cal a 42-30 lead. Forsett, who finished second in the Pac-10 in rushing with 1,406 yards and 13 touchdowns, was just as effective on Monday. He ran for 140 yards on 23 carries and gave Cal the lead for good, 28-27, with a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter. Forsett's go-ahead TD came after Air Force lost starting quarterback Shaun Carney with a right knee injury. Carney was tackled at the Cal 1 on third down when his leg buckled after being hit by a trio of Cal players. The game marked a matchup of teams that ended the regular season going in opposite directions and it appeared that things were set to continue. California dropped six of its last seven games to turn a 5-0 start into a 6-6 finish. The only win during that stretch was a 20-17 victory against Washington State. Unlike Cal, Air Force came into the game riding high, having won three straight and six of its last seven games. The Falcons scored 96 points in their last two contests, beating Notre Dame and San Diego State. Air Force was able to use its option attack to expose a number of holes in the Cal defense in the first half. Carney ran for a 1-yard TD in the first quarter to open the scoring and hit Travis Dekker for a 7-yard score in the second to make it 14-0. Jim Ollis ran for an 8-yard TD to make it 21-0 before Riley and Forsett rallied the Golden Bears.

FRESNO ST 40, GEORGIA TECH 28 -----------------------------
HUMANITARIAN BOWL
BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- Clifton Smith rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Tom Brandstater threw and ran for a TD as Fresno State posted a 40-28 victory over Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl. The win is Fresno State's second bowl victory over Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs beat the Yellow Jackets, 30-21, in the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic. After finishing third in the Western Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs garnered a bowl berth for the eighth time in nine seasons and won for the fourth time in their last five postseason games. Smith busted through the Georgia Tech defense for a 43-yard TD in the third quarter and added a 32-yard score with 1:50 remaining to cap the scoring. Brandstater completed 23-of-30 passes for 288 yards for Fresno State, which racked up 573 total yards against one of the nation's stoutest defenses. The Yellow Jackets had been stellar defensively, leading the nation in sacks and ranking 12th against the run and in total yards allowed. Georgia Tech did close the gap to 34-28 early in the fourth quarter when Calvin Booker threw a 20-yard TD pass to D.J. Donley, who outfought a pair of Fresno State defensive backs for the ball.

KENTUCKY 35, FLORIDA ST 28 --------------------------
MUSIC CITY BOWL
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Andre' Woodson ended his career in style, throwing four touchdown passes to lead Kentucky to a 35-28 victory over shorthanded Florida State in the Music City Bowl. He finished his senior year with 40 touchdowns, breaking the previous SEC single-season mark of 39 set by Florida's Danny Wuerffel in 1996. Kentucky (8-5) posted bowl wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1950-51. The Wildcats defeated Clemson, 28-20, in last year's Music City Bowl. Woodson also set a school record with 79 career TD passes and was named the Music City Bowl's Most Valuable Player for the second straight year. The Seminoles, who were without 36 players due to an academic cheating scandal, other violations of team rules or injuries, battled Kentucky to a 14-14 tie at halftime. Florida State erased a 14-7 deficit when cornerback Tony Carter returned Woodson's interception 24 yards for a touchdown with 3:28 remaining in the second quarter. But that was one of the few mistakes made by Woodson, who completed 32-of-50 passes for 358 yards. Kentucky, which averaged just under 37 points during the regular season, wore down the Seminoles in the second half. Woodson tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Rafael Little with 6:49 left in the third quarter to snap the tie. Tony Dixon's 4-yard TD run pushed the Wildcats' lead to 28-14 with four seconds left in the period.